"Feelings"
One of artworks for French vinyl single
Single by Morris Albert
from the album After We've Left Each Other
B-side
  • "Christine" (original version)
  • "Come To My Life" (Decca version)
  • "This World Today Is a Mess" (RCA Victor version)
Released1974
GenreSoft rock
Length3:46
Label
Songwriter(s)Morris Albert, Louis Gasté
Producer(s)Morris Albert
Morris Albert singles chronology
"The Man from Nazareth"
(1973) 		"Feelings"
(1974) 		"Sweet Loving Man"
(1975)

"Feelings" is a song by the Brazilian singer Morris Albert, who also wrote the lyrics. Albert released "Feelings" in 1974 as a single and later included it as the title track of his 1975 debut album. The song's lyrics, recognizable by the "whoa whoa whoa" chorus, concern the singer's inability to "forget my feelings of love". Albert's original recording of the song was hugely successful, performing well internationally.

In late 1975, "Feelings" reached number 4 in Record World magazine, number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number 10 in Cash Box. It also hit number 2 on the Adult Contemporary chart in the United States.[1] In 1986, French songwriter Louis Gasté successfully sued Albert for copyright infringement on the grounds that the tune was taken from Gasté's 1957 song "Pour Toi"; Gasté is now credited as the song's co-author.

Chart history

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[25] Platinum 200,000[24]
United Kingdom (BPI)[26] Silver 250,000^
United States (RIAA)[27] Gold 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Dispute over authorship

At the time of "Feelings"'s greatest commercial success, it was solely credited to Albert himself. In 1986,[28] the French songwriter Loulou Gasté sued Morris Albert for copyright infringement, claiming that "Feelings" plagiarized the melody of his 1956 song "Pour Toi". Gasté won the lawsuit, upheld on appeal in 1988; they now share the credits of the song.[29]

Recordings of the song have credited authorship variously to Albert alone, to Albert and Gasté (since the late 1980s), to Albert and Michel Jourdan (because of the French lyrics Dis-Lui), and to Albert and "Kaisermann". The last of these attributions is redundant, since the singer's real name is Mauricio Alberto Kaisermann.[30]

Other versions

In the years after its release, "Feelings" has been performed by many other vocalists. A version by Chicago soul singer Walter Jackson reached number 93 on Billboard's pop chart in January 1977.[31]

In 1975 Wess recorded the cover of the song for the album Wess & Dori released in Brazil (Young, 304.1052).

Bobby Vinton sang "Feelings" on his 1975 album Heart of Hearts.[32]

In 1975, Mexican Grupero band Los Bukis released a Spanish language version (titled "Sentimientos") on their debut album Falso Amor.

Nina Simone covered the song for a set she performed at the 1976 Montreux Jazz Festival.[33] SOPHIE and Cecile Believe performed a truncated version inspired by Simone's cover at Elsewhere in February 2018 during a tour leading up to the release of SOPHIE's album Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides.[34]

Japanese band Hi-Fi Set released a Japanese-language cover in 1977.

An instrumental version of the song was included on Ubaldo Continiello's soundtrack to the 1978 Italian film Last Feelings.

During a lecture at Chautauqua Institution, Julie Andrews stated that she considered this song too difficult to sing because it had no meaning behind it.[35]

The Gong Show had an episode in which every contestant sang this song.[36]

In "Switch", a 1990 Pepsi commercial, MC Hammer sings "Feelings" instead of "U Can't Touch This" when given a non-Pepsi drink.[37] (In fact Hammer lip-synched to a session singer.[38])

In the "Cousin Urkel" episode of "Family Matters", Steve Urkel serenades Laura Winslow with the song outside her window in a tree before falling down.

The Offspring recorded in their album Americana a parodic cover of "Feelings" concerning the narrator's hatred.[39]

References

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 17.
  2. ^ a b "National Top 100 Singles for 1975". Kent Music Report. 29 December 1975. Retrieved 15 January 2022 – via Imgur.
  3. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  4. ^ "Morris Albert – Feelings" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  5. ^ "Morris Albert – Feelings" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 3998." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4036." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  8. ^ https://chartssinglestop40france.blogspot.com/2017/07/10-aout-1975.html
  9. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Morris Albert". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  10. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Morris Albert" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  11. ^ "Morris Albert – Feelings" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  12. ^ "Morris Albert – Feelings". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  13. ^ Samson, John; Kimberley, Chris; Farquharson, Kevin (September–October 2000). "SA Charts 1969 – 1989". South Africa's Rock List. Retrieved 7 January 2014. As presented on Springbok Radio/Radio Orion
  14. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  15. ^ "Adult Contemporary The week of August 2, 1975". Billboard. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  16. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  17. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, October 4, 1975". Archived from the original on June 20, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  18. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Morris Albert – Feelings" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 21 January 2021. To see peak chart position, click "TITEL VON Morris Albert"
  19. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca.
  20. ^ "Britain's best selling records of '75". Record Mirror. London: Billboard. January 10, 1976. p. 12. Retrieved August 29, 2016.[permanent dead link]
  21. ^ Musicoutfitters.com
  22. ^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 27, 1975". Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  23. ^ "National Top 100 Singles for 1976". Kent Music Report. 27 December 1976. Retrieved 15 January 2022 – via Imgur.
  24. ^ "Singles Still Sell At RCA" (PDF). Billboard. April 1, 1978. p. 75. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  25. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Morris Albert – Feelings". Music Canada.
  26. ^ "British single certifications – Albert Morris – Feelings". British Phonographic Industry.
  27. ^ "American single certifications – Morris Albert – Feelings". Recording Industry Association of America.
  28. ^ Gaste v Kaiserman, S.D.N.Y. 1987, Casemine
  29. ^ Gaste v. Morris Kaiserman 863 F.2d 1061 (2d Cir. 1988) , Music Copyright Infringement Resource, George Washington University Law School & Columbia Law School
  30. ^ Viglione, Joe. "Feelings [RCA]". All Music.
  31. ^ "Walter Jackson". Billboard.
  32. ^ "Feelings by Bobby Vinton". Secondhand Songs. 1975. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  33. ^ Okoth-Obbo, Vanessa (July 29, 2020). "Nina Simone, Montreux Jazz 1976: a difficult, unsteady return to the limelight". The Guardian. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  34. ^ "SOPHIE (Live Debut) @ Elsewhere (The Hall), NYC, 8 Feb 2018". YouTube. February 14, 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  35. ^ Plyler, Robert W. (June 30, 2012). "Practically Perfect in Every Way". The Post Journal. Archived from the original on May 16, 2013. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  36. ^ "4 outrageous 'Gong Show' moments to remember host Chuck Barris". TODAY.com. 22 March 2017.
  37. ^ "Pepsi: M.C. Hammer — Switch". 31st International Broadcasting Awards: 1990. Paley Center. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  38. ^ "Q. Does M.C. Hammer sing "Feelings" on the Pepsi commercial or is he lip-synching?". Orlando Sentinel. 3 May 1991.
  39. ^ The Offspring - A Piece of Americana
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